How to debug wordpress plugin in 2024

Debugging a WordPress plugin can be a crucial part of ensuring that your website runs smoothly. Here are some steps and tips to help you debug a WordPress plugin effectively:

1. Enable WP_DEBUG: Edit your wp-config.php file and set the WP_DEBUG constant to true. This will enable the debug mode throughout WordPress, allowing you to see PHP errors, notices, and warnings¹.
2. WP_DEBUG_LOG: Along with enabling WP_DEBUG, you can set WP_DEBUG_LOG to true to log all errors to a debug.log file in the wp-content directory¹.
3. WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY: To prevent the errors from being displayed on your site, set WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY to false. You can also use @ini_set('display_errors', 0) to ensure errors are not displayed¹.
4. Use Debugging Plugins: There are several plugins available that can help you with debugging by providing more information about the internals of WordPress. For example, the Debug Bar plugin adds a debug menu to the admin bar that shows query, cache, and other helpful debugging information¹.
5. JavaScript Debugging: For debugging JavaScript, you can use console.log('the value is ' + variable); within <script> tags and check the output in the browser’s console using tools like Google Chrome Inspector or Firebug².
6. Custom PHP Debugging: You can create custom functions to log messages to a file or display them within the HTML. For example, you can use the error_log() function in PHP to write to a log file².
7. Query Monitor Plugin: This plugin is a powerful tool for developers. It provides a wide range of debugging information and logs which can be very helpful in pinpointing issues².

Remember, it’s not recommended to leave debugging turned on in live environments. It’s best used on local or staging sites. Also, always ensure you have a backup of your site before making changes to the code.